Riot Settles SBI Crypto’s Bitcoin Mining Hosting Dispute for $20M
Riot has reached a $20 million cash settlement with SBI Crypto, ending a long-running legal dispute tied to a terminated bitcoin mining colocation agreement at Riot’s Whinstone facility in Rockdale, Texas.
SBI Crypto, which operates the SBI mining pool, sued Whinstone in April 2023, alleging breach of contract, fraud and negligent bailment stemming from a hosting arrangement that ended in 2021. Riot acquired Whinstone in 2021 and operates the Rockdale site as one of its flagship Bitcoin mining and data-center campuses.
According to Riot’s 2025 annual report on Monday, the case progressed through key pretrial motions and into a February 2026 trial. The company said the court granted partial summary judgment on Feb. 2, 2026, disallowing SBI from using “appreciated Bitcoin prices” in its damages model, and that trial began on Feb. 9 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Derek Gilliland.
The parties then “verbally agreed” to a global settlement on Feb. 16, 2026, under which Riot will pay SBI $20 million in cash to resolve “all existing or future claims between the parties.”
The settlement amount is far below the damages figures SBI had sought during the litigation. SBI attempted to recover more than $175 million in purported lost profits — with a substantial portion tied to Bitcoin price appreciation — along with more than $50 million in equipment replacement costs, plus exemplary damages, attorneys’ fees and interest. Riot said SBI also tried to update damages to more than $350 million through an expert report that the court later struck.
The case traces back to a colocation services agreement under which SBI Crypto — a subsidiary of Japan’s SBI Holdings — placed mining machines at the Texas facility operated by Whinstone. SBI’s complaint alleged that Whinstone made misrepresentations about its ability to host the planned deployment and about operating conditions, and that the issues impaired SBI’s mining operations and damaged equipment.
Public reporting around the initial lawsuit described SBI’s claims as centered on delays and shortfalls in bringing machines online, as well as alleged infrastructure and operational deficiencies at the site, which SBI said reduced expected mining output.
Procedurally, Riot said Whinstone moved to dismiss SBI’s amended complaint in July 2023; the motion was denied later that year, allowing the case to continue. Records posted by the U.S. government’s court document repository show an order adopting recommendations and denying Whinstone’s motion to dismiss.
Riot also disclosed that Whinstone filed counterclaims in November 2024, including breach of contract and fraudulent inducement. Those counterclaims, along with SBI’s claims, were swept into what Riot described as a “global settlement.”
